americans who represent the very best of the united states of america. we will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act. and make no mistake, justice will be done. >> warner: for now, the pentagon ordered special units of marines to libya called "fast" teams, like this detachment shown training, to reinforce security at diplomatic sites in libya. and from tripoli, the president of libya's national assembly echoed the words of his american counterparts. >> ( translated ): we apologize to the united states of america and to the american people and to the whole world for what happened, and at the same time we expect the rest of the world to help us face these cowardly criminal acts. we refuse to use our country's land as a scene of cowardly reprisals. >> warner: those reprisals came apparently in response to internet clips of a film titled "the innocence of muslims" that crudely defamed the prophet muhamm. a california man calling himself sam bacile has said he produced the movie. it was also promoted recently by florida preacher terry jones, wh

ambassador to the united states. >> i think the componts, the resolution of the iranian crisis there has to be negotiation, there has to be sanctions, there has to be a credible threat of war and there has to be a ladder to enable the regime to climb down. if you have all four elements in play then you can have a peaceful resolution to all of these. but if you look at it, i'm not happy, i should say this very clearly. i'm not happy with the way our foreign policy and doe midwest i can politics have become intertwined. i'm not happy at the rift between the prime minister and the administration. when he said we need to see red lines, secretary clinton said there are not going to be red lines. >> rose: we conclude with best selling author michael lewis talking about a new article he has in "vanity fair" about president obama. >> i thought what would be a fun piece of journalism to do? and i just had been struck through the course not just of this man's administration, this president's administration but previous ones just kind of a dysjuncture between the commentary on the outside and what it

prophet muhammad. >> the united states condemns in the strongest determines this attack. we will work with the libyan government to bring to justice the killers who attacked our people. >> obama said the attack will not break the bonds between the countries. the president of libya's national assembly apologized at a news conference in tripoli. mohammad garias acknowledged that film insulted the prophet muhammad. still, he said retaliatory attack cannot be tolerated. the film at the heart of the protests has angered people across the middle east. it depicts the prophet muhammad and includes scenes of sexuality. hundreds of egyptians protested for a second day in front of the u.s. embassy in cairo. authorities have sent in more security forces to watch them. >> translator: i'm deeply hurt, seeing the prophet insulted. the u.s. should give consideration to the sentiment of muslims. >> the protests spread to tunisia, jordan, and morocco. part of the film is now online. many muslims consider any depiction of the prophet muhammad offensive. >>> the wait is over for those queueing up to

the united states and said to be insulting to islam. >>> u.s. drones join the manhunt for those who killed a u.s. diplomat and three other americans. concerns over the tep id response by the new regime in egypt. >> i don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy. >> we're covering every angle of this developing story. first, let's take a step back and look at how things have unfolded over the past 48 hours. the outrage first ignited tuesday in egypt. protesters converged on the embassy. within hours, crowds gathered outside benghazi, libya. armed militants killed the u.s. ambassador and three of the staffers. today, crowds storm the u.s. embassy in yemen. riot police eventually turned them back with tear gas. also today, demonstrators turn out in iran. they aamass outside the swiss embassy, which represents u.s. interests in iran. let's get the latest now from that region. mohammed jamjoon join us. >> about 2,000 to 3,000 protesters that were marching toward the u.s. embassy, many of them aable to get close enough to the main gates. they starte

cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 170 and the nays are mented mouse is -- the motion is not adopted. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. this will be a five-minute vote. a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 223 and the nays are

attacks against the united states embsy in cairo and the u.s. consulate in bengazi in libya. in libya, our ambassador chris stevens and three other americans were killed in the service of our nation. our thoughts and sympathies today are with the families of these brave americans. these attacks remind us of the sacrifices made on a daily basisaway foreign service officers, diplomatic security personnel and our marine security guards. i joi my colleagues in strongly condemning the murder of these innocent americans, and i strongly support employing every available tool at our dissal to ensure t safety of americans overseas and to hunt down those responsible for these attacks. yesterday, we commemorated the anniversary of the attacks of september 11, and today we are reminded that brave americans serve us every day at the risk of their own lives. we honor the americans we lost in libya and we will stand united in our response. among the things we can agree on in washington is that the attacks on the u.s. and its representatives ll be met with resolve and that america's presence and defe

shepard smith. >>shepard: breaking news in the coordinated attack on the united states consulate in libya and murder of the united states ambassador on 9/11. there is no apparent to it. he was absolutely murdered. lib al-libi -- libyan officials made an arrest. no one will confirm the information. u.s. officials tell fox to be "cautious," about reports of arrests. according to reuters, quoting libya's interior minister four men are in custody and under investigation suspected of helping events at the u.s. consulate. "helping." f.b.i. and others are on the ground in the early stages of the investigation. top priority here? find out whether the strike on the consulate was a planned assault by terrorists rather than a rampageing mob angry other antimuslim video. catherine is in washington, dc, first on the reported arrests. >> this afternoon, the intelligence community is trying to knock down the report. this question was put to the state department. i saw the press reports before i came down. i was not able to confirm them. obviously, it would be a good thing if we are moving forward

house and at the capitol flying at half staff today in memory of the united states ambassador, christopher stevens, and three other americans killed last night at the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. president obama has ordered that flags fly at half staff across the united states and at embassies around the world until sunday night. >>> i'm wolf blitzer in for piers morgan. earlier today the republican challenger, mitt romney, blasted president obama for what he characterized as, quote, an apology for america's values over the storming of the u.s. embassy in cairo. >> an apology for america's values is never the right course. >> the president fired right back in an interview tonight with cbs news. >> governor romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and name later, and as president, one of the things i've learned is you can't do that. you know, it's important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts and that you've thought through the ramifications before you make them. >> and there are late-breaking developments right now. two

protests spreading around the world all directed at the united states and we're learning more about the film and filmmaker at the center of the outrage. plus some progress in finding those responsible for the death of the american ambassador to libya, let's go "outfront". >>> good evening i'm erin burnett. "outfront" tonight turmoil spreading. protesters rising up in at least nine middle eastern countries today their target the united states. this is cairo tonight. you're looking at pictures here as you can see flames, molotov cocktails, hundreds of angry protesters amassed outside of the american embassy. security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to hold them out. even canada out of caution closed their embassy in cairo. a photo cairo, it's a chalk drawing on the ground of a jewish star of david with the words, i'll translate, remember your black day september 11th within in arabic. and it is beyond cairo tonight. anti-u.s. demonstrators clashed in front of u.s. embassies, in israel, sudan, iraq, iran and among muslims in kashmir. there's a call in iran for nationwide ralli

one of the most secure embassies that the united states has. it looks like they are very close to that front gate situation. the yemeni forces control the street, the outside perimeter of the embassy. there are checkpoints and anyone on that street who tries to approach the embassy is stopped well before they get there. this is a place that has seen many protests, has seen attacks, seen attempted attacks. one of the most secure. but let's be very cautious here. we have seen the unrest at u.s. installations over the last few days. reports are the yemeni forces are trying to control the situation. we will have to keep monitoring this in the coming hours. >> barbara, we are hearing about shots fired. is that some inside the embassy out or from outside the embassy in? >> well, the reports that i-witnesses are giving indicate that yemeni forces have been firing into the air at this point, trying to disperse the crowd. perhaps i think trying to move them away from the gate of the embassy, trying to move them back. there are a variety of security forces that are at the embassy as i say.

towards muslims and arabs this is how the arab and muslim states perceives the united states as an aggressor and then aggressor well it takes a spark for it to you know all come out in violent forms as we can see now on the screen and this is what's happening and it's very you know it's saying it again i live here so it doesn't come to me as a surprise because i see that people have tremendous hatred and negative aggressive feelings towards americans and very that's. very unfortunate doesn't serve american interests and i think the russian foreign ministry and the chinese foreign ministry has been saying this all along that the policy of the americans towards this part of the world is inadequate it doesn't call for dialogue doesn't call for development it doesn't call for progress it calls for the moving because it suits american interests and some western interests a cause for war and invasion of iraq as we have seen destruction of afghanistan no progress on the peace level in palestine as i just said no development in the development index in egypt or in northern africa or other

the united states. >> four americans including our ambassador to libya have been killed. >> this morning romney used the trajty to criticize the agenda. >> this is no time for politics. >> did the romney campaign jump the gun last night. >> it's disgraceful. >> it's disgraceful that the obama administration first response was not to condemn attacks on our diplomatic missions but to sympathize with those who waged the attacks. >> justice will be done. >> team romney has -- >> we shouldn't be on an apology tour. >> the original statements by the cairo embassy were long before. >> six hours before these protests even started. >> it suggests a level of desperation. >> the desperate reach by mitt romney. >> that makes him look a little bit out of touch. >> contracts and tone deaf. >> how did mitt romney get into this mess? >> he needs to be severely aggressive. >> the first response to the united states must be outrage. >> be very aggressive. >> well he aggressively shot himself in the foot. >> do not seem crass. >> he has a tendency to shoot first and aim later. >>> today, mitt romne

cairo not far from the united states embassy in cairo near tahrir square. crowds have assembled. it's now after 10:00 p.m. local time in cairo. they're getting ready for friday morning prayers. we expect thousands of people to show up. a little while ago we saw fire fights going on there. this escalation of violence in cairo clearly getting bigger and bigger as we speak. right now our own ben wedeman is standing by. we'll go to him shortly. even as we look at these live pictures, let's check in with jack cafferty. he's following the attacks unfolding in the middle east as well. you're here with the cafferty file. >> renewing questions in washington about which countries get u.s. foreign aid and whether they deserve it. some house conservatives wanted to strip out foreign aid to both libya and egypt from a six-month funding bill set for a vote today. that's not going to happen because it was simply too late to make any changes to that bill. nevertheless, some republicans are questioning now if the u.s. should keep giving money to countries run by what they call radical islamists, like

undersiege right now after the killing of the united states ambassador in libya. so how dangerous is it now for americans abroad? also, as the u.s. moves to hunt down the killers, libyan authorities make at least one arrest. but was it a mob attack or something much more ominous? >>> and mitt romney's taking heat even from some republicans for his harsh criticism of president obama's foreign policy. is he ready to dial back or double down again? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> u.s. warships are moving toward libya today as president obama vows that no act of terror will go unpunished. his words. but in the grim aftermath of the u.s. consulate attack in libya which left the u.s. ambassador and three other americans dead, there are still serious questions as to which group was responsible. meantime, violent protests sparked by an anti-islamic film spreading across the muslim world today. in cairo, crowds have again gathered outside the u.s. embassy right now. they've been throwing rocks and fire bombs as police answer with tear gas. in yemen, police open fire to disp

not been seen anywhere until now. this is the president of the united states, giving his first extended response to questions about yesterday's events in benghazi, libya and in cairo, egypt. >> mr. president, for the first time since 1979, a sitting ambassador, christopher stevens, plus three other americans were killed in the line of duty. we send more than a billion dollars a year to egypt, tens of millions to libya after its liberation. is it time to reconsider foreign aid to countries where many of the people don't want us around? >> well, look, the united states doesn't have an option of withdrawing from the world, and we're the one indispensable nation. countries all around the world look to us for leadership, even countries where sometimes you experience protests. so it's important for us to stay engaged, but, obviously, what happened last night was heartbreaking. and libya in particular is a government that is very friendly towards us. the vast majority of libyans welcomed the united states' involvement. they understand that it's because of us that they got rid of a dic

believed to have been prompted by a movie made here in the united states by a california filmmaker the movie depicts the prophet mohammad as a fraudster and womanizer something that is deeply offensive to the muslim faith the film was also promoted by anti muslim organizations and a trailer for it was posted on you tube sparking the outrage however now u.s. officials believe that at least the attack on the consulate libya claimed the life of ambassador stevens may have been pre-planned executed by using the protests outside as a diversion president obama strongly condemned the attacks and secretary of state clinton released a statement saying we are heartbroken question now everyone is asking is why did this happen. too many americans particularly on the hard right are quick to jump in and to blame islam for the death of four americans of the taking down of two u.s. diplomatic buildings a consulate in libya and an embassy in egypt but this is simplistic thinking at best and racist at worst now rodney king when he was beaten by police in los angeles this was followed by weeks of riots i

that the united states now is an excuse to send troops into libya which they couldn't do before and there's rather widespread resistance still to the government quote unquote of the n.c.c. i mean they can't even really as semblant hold a press conference in tripoli yet and their cities to the west where their so-called green zones where gadhafi supporters still exist that's another possibility and then finally if you look at egypt the situation there is one where the government the president morsi has made a break with the people over two major issues in the last week or two of his coming down on the side of the united states over the over the situation in syria and iraq with israel neither of which are with the center of gravity exists among the egyptian people and they've had almost continuing revolution since january february of last year where each time when they felt the revolution was betrayed they went into the streets of the dynamics underneath this i think a much more complex than this movie and although it may be a case of blowback there are many you know a number of other

disagreements. the president of the united states should not kowtow to the egyptian president about some movie. the problem the united states government has said by leading with this question of this film, which is sort of this bogus pretext. it may have been the instigator for the rally but the united states government should not be having a discussion with mohammed morsi, a 9/11 truther about some crazy film made by kooky director which has nothing to do what is actually going on at this point. we legitimize, i'm afraid, the notion that this film actually matters to the entire discussion when in fact the real problem is with the egyptian government. there are real questions why the security forces that have helped protect the u.s. embassy in cairo simply melted away in the face of the attacks. the participants, ayman al-zawahiri being one of the leaders in that protest. there are serious questions. i hope they're being resolved in private because they're not being discussed in public. bill: meantime you have a campaign that will play out in 50 plus days from now. how does this play out as we

cairo. the secretary of state hillary clinton has denounced the violence against the united states. >> but as i said yesterday, there is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence. we condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms. >> let's turn now to cnn's ben wedeman in cairo. 224 people injured so far? >> reporter: yes. that's right. and in fact, the number is probably likely to rise. right now, i'm hearing a lot of shouting and there were just a moment ago a lot of teargas being fired in the street. right next to the american embassy. and this is really been going on all day long. and what we have seen in the last hour is that the security forces have pulled back closer to the area immediately around the american embassy. now, we had a chance to speak with some of those protest earls. many of them blaming directly president obama for this current uproar. >> translator: our demand is that president barack obama appears and makes an official apology to all islamic nations. that is our right. we also want the tape burned and all those involve

of state hillary clinton told muslims everywhere that the united states had nothing to do with the youtube video that seems to have sparked the violent protests. >> this video is disgusting and reprehensible. it appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage. but as i said yesterday, there is no justification, none at all, for responding to this video with violence. we condemn the violence that has resulted in the strongest terms. >> egypt is where the latest violence against the u.s. started. egypt may be where the u.s. faces its biggest challenges. you've got angry crowds protesting for a third day over a film that insults islam. now, demonstrates threw mocks and molotov cocktails, pushed through the barbed wire fencing outside the embassy in cairo. police responded by firing tear gas. ian lee is join ugs from the egyptian capital. ian, this is three days with these kind of demonstrations. first of all, do we expect that on friday, a day of prayer, it's going to be much, much bigger and more violent? >> reporter: well, it's definitely

government which is condemned the attacks and is working with the united states to maintain order and protect embassy facilities and the people inside. >>> meanwhile, the u.s. has dispatched two war ships, armed with cruise missiles, closer to the libyan coast. the defense department says this is just a precautionary step. but 50 u.s. marines have also been dispatched to help guard the embassy in tripoli but there's still more questions than answers on what happened in benghazi and who was behind the attack that left four americans dead, including 52-year-old ambassador chris stevens, widely regarded as one of the most popular and successful american envoys in the region. and of course, sean smith, a father of two and foreign service information management officer. last night campaigning in nevada, the president warned there will be consequences for the perpetrators of the attack. >> as for the ones we lost last night, i want to assure you, we will bring their killers to justice. no act of terror will dim the light of the values that we proudly shine on the rest of the world and no ac

anti islam film here in the united states was just one person and is not representative of the american people as a whole so our hope is that we can understand that this is a long process no one said democracy would be quick it's a process we need to be. and we need to continue in terms of the united states government continuing our relationship with the libyan government as it moves forward and we need to seriously look at the kind of support we can bring forward to the syrian opposition as we move forward as well so as always i guess my next question is why syria when we see essentially the same human rights abuses taking place in the. i mean to me it does seem a very lot of double speak a lot of rhetoric about humanitarian efforts but really i mean what is this all about do you really think that this is strictly a staunchly about eighteen humanitarian like efforts in these countries i mean when we see pretty much the same abuses going on in so many other countries so what's really going on here well i would say the response from the united states government to both the situation befo

documentation from the united states department of commerce that it was commercial free for export. and so the whole problem was actually a mistake so what was it was it really a mistake how do you think it was done and some purpose by then by the americans so you know i think it was absolutely a mistake absolutely absolutely ok you you compared the methods used by the american detention by those described by a soldier knutson is good. this is true with oracle exaggeration i mean he used or what are they really comparable they are can i just say some words about the american justice system. for ups your viewers don't realize this but there are two systems. there is a system for people who are rich and well connected and this this is used by one or two percent of the population the rest unfortunately confess. confess usually after a long struggle and for example last year two thousand and eleven ninety seven percent of the people in the federal courts confessed. of those who struggled further with the system less than one half of one percent were acquitted half of one percent so if you s

the united states? >> i don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy. they are a new government that is trying to find its way. they were democratically elected. i think that we will have to see how they respond to this incident, how they respond to, for example, maintaining the peace treaty with israel. >> i want to bring in nick kristof and look at the cover this week. the agents of outrage. we'll talk about that, as well. couldn't be happier to have the two of you and your expertise in this area. i want to start with what happened in libya and give us your perspective. these assailants were heavily armed. it they seemed to be organized. does it seem to you perhaps to have been timed for 9/11, was it an attack of opportunity? >> i really don't know. but it is unusual in that libya is really the most pro american country in the region. the ambassador was be loved in libya. he had helped save benghazi, the city in which he was murdered. and libya as responded pretty appropriately. the government immediately condemned the attack, you have ordin

cairo was not cleared by washington. it does not reflect the views of the united states government. the romney campaign quickly accused the obama administration of sympathizing to those who have attacked american interests and americans, calling the messages from the administration a quote disgrace. fifteen minutes later, secretary of state clinton issued a statement condemning the attacks in benghazi, but making no mention of the attack in egypt. at midnight eastern, the cairo embassy statements are removed from the official website. in the obama administration reacted to the reports of dead americans in libya. but not without replying to governor romney's criticism of the president as well. the statement said we are shocked that at a time when the united states of america is confronting the tragic death of one of our diplomatic officers in libya, governor romney would choose to launch a political attack. at 5:00 a.m. eastern this morning, reuters informed that the u.s. ambassador to libya, christopher stephens and three other americans have been killed in benghazi. six hours late

makes plain that discrimination is not the policy of these united states. it says no program funded by federal vawa dollars can turn away a domestic violence victim because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity, whether the victim is gay or straight, american indian, white, black or latino, in my view, madam president, and in the view of so many in this chamber, they deserve protection from abuse and justice for their abusers. there are two other important changes in this vawa reauthorization as passed through the senate. both of which help ensure we bring perpetrators to justice no national who their victims are or where the claims are committed. these help law enforcement to secure needed testimony from victims who are unwilling to come forward due to reasonable fears of deportation. so in total, all three of these important changes to the substance and scope of vawa i think strengthen it, i think carry forward its initial spirit and i think are completely appropriate things for this senate and the house to do in our every five-year reconsideration and reauthorizati

world, and no act of violence will shake the resolve of the united states of america. >> good morning. it is thursday, september 13th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, national affairs editor for "new york" magazine, john heilman, richard haass. and in washington, nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent and host of "andrea mitchell reports," andrea mitchell. >> we have so much to talk about this morning. of course breaking news overnight. >> yeah. >> we, of course, have been focused on libya. yesterday we were focused on the political scrap that was taking place while we had chaotic situations across the globe. >> i'd say it was more than a scrap. >> i think it was a terrible moment, maybe a defining moment in the campaign, of course what's going on in egypt right now. is equally troubling. and i suspect that when the streets clear, perhaps the most troubling aftereffect of this will be what has not been said by the muslim brotherhood or the leaders of egypt. this morning we'll have to get to that later because this morning more breaking news. now out of yemen. >> yep

majority of libyans welcomed the united states' involvement. they understand that it's because of us that they got rid of a dictator who would crush their spirits for 40 years. many libyans came to the defense of our team in benghazi when they were attacked. but, you know, what we have to do now is to do a full investigation, find out the facts, find out who perpetrated these terrible acts, and bring them to justice. >> what does that mean? bring them to justice? what are your options? >> well, our hope is to be able to capture them. but we're going to have to, obviously, cooperate with the libyan government and, you know, i have confidence that we will stay on this relentlessly, because chris stevens, he's somebody who actually advised me and secretary clinton during the original libyan uprising. he was somebody who libyans recognized as being on the side of the people, and we're going to get help. we're going to get cooperation on this. the broader issue of what's happened in both the middle east and north africa is one where we know that these are new democracies. i mean, in egypt